Numerous firing pin safety mechanisms have been proposed for decades (see, for example, DE 304 280, DE 319 321, U.S. Pat. No. 2,848,832, DE 313 011 and DE 69 995). Such known mechanisms have the general purpose of preventing undesired discharge of a shot if a weapon is violently struck from the front (for example, if its muzzle is struck on the ground when the weapon inadvertently falls from a balcony).
So-called "floating" firing pins, (that is, a firing pin having a tip which, when the firing pin is in the rest position, does not sit on the percussion cap of a cartridge, but instead is separated a distance from the cartridge by a weak spring that forces the pin in a rearward direction), are commonly used in firearms. When a hammer strikes the rear end of such a floating firing pin ("front" is understood throughout this document to mean the direction of shooting and "rear" is understood to be opposite "front"), kinetic energy is transferred to the firing pin which responds by moving forward through the separation distance and striking the percussion cap of the cartridge.
However, kinetic energy can also be imparted to a floating firing pin by an accident, a mishap or the like, (for example, when a weapon falls from a stairway, from a raised height, etc.). By way of another example, if the butt of a weapon having a muzzle facing in a downward direction strikes the edge of a wall hard, kinetic energy will be imparted to the firing pin which will then move forward and strike against the percussion cap of the cartridge, just as it would during shooting. This movement of the firing pin can cause the weapon to discharge. If the muzzle encounters, for example, a stone floor when this inadvertent discharge occurs, the muzzle can be additionally widened or otherwise deformed by the firing shock so that the weapon is severely damaged.
Some of the aforementioned patents, therefore, propose a catch-like safety element mounted to pivot around a cross pin in the breechblock. The proposed safety elements have a safety catch that faces the firing pin. The firing pin has a recess close to its rear end. The recess is located opposite the safety catch formed on the safety element. A coil or leaf spring loads the safety element so that the safety catch is forced into the recess. When the safety catch engages the recess, the firing pin is secured and cannot move toward the percussion cap even during one of the aforementioned accidents.
In some of the above mentioned safety elements, the safety element is lengthened rearward by a release part having a beveled or camming surface. The beveled surface of the release part extends into the motion path of the hammer directly behind the rear end of the firing pin. As a result, when the hammer strikes, it first strikes the beveled surface and, in so doing, forces the release part and, thus, the safety element to the side such that the firing pin is released by the safety catch before the pin is struck by the hammer. As a result, the firing pin can move under the influence of the hammer to fire a shot.
Although the above described firing pin safety mechanisms are effective, they have not gained acceptance, perhaps because of deficient reliability. Moreover, such mechanisms require several precision-machined individual parts; assembly of which is labor-intensive and, thus, impractical given the general cost pressure experienced by firearm manufacturers.